Sample Translations
Kun Woong Park The Time of Beasts E ng l i s h
Book Information
The Time of Beasts (짐승의 시간) Bori Publishing corp. / 2014 / 7 p. / ISBN 9788984288485 For further information, please visit: http://library.klti.or.kr/node/772
This sample translation was produced with support from LTI Korea. Please contact the LTI Korea Library for further information. library@klti.or.kr
The Time of Beasts Written by Park Kun Woong
The Seven Star Bed September 4, 1985 at 7:30 a.m.
The fact that I found comforting was that I had at least underwear on. They will not take anything more from me. At least I have something on me. I’m better off than the Jewish Holocaust victims from Auschwitz, who had been stripped naked. As soon as I sat on the plank called The Seven Star, they laid me down on it. Clap! The Seven Star Bed. It was a wooden plank that was slightly longer than a person’s height. It was taller than the tub, and the head part, which was right next to the tub, was lower than the other end of the plank. They had a blanket on the plank, laid me down on it, wrapped me with another blanket, and tied me with army belts. I was wrapped with the blanket so that I would not have any scars, obviously not for my protection. And they tied me with the belts for the same reason. They tied the belt over five different places—my ankles, knees, thighs, stomach, and chest— so I couldn’t move at all. But I was able to move my head. If I couldn’t, I might end up with physical evidence of the torture. The top half of my head fell into the tub without any support so as to inflict maximum pain during the water torture. If I really tried, I could twist my feet and my elbows
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a little. And of course, I was blindfolded the whole time. As soon as they laid me down on the plank, they tied me to it. I knew that I would face this one day. I just have to hang on. The same thing had happened to the people who fought for independence during the Japanese occupation, and the people who fought against the Yushin Regime in the 70s, and now they were going to do the same to me. They knew who I was, and this was going to become a political problem. I hung onto this thought, but it only lasted for a moment. Hey! I was blindfolded, but they covered my face with a yellow towel. I couldn’t see anything. Jeong Hyun-gyu and Choe Sang-nam pressed down on my head, so I couldn’t move it. They turned the faucet on, and the water poured out from the showerhead. I gritted my teeth and tried to bear it. I thought I could endure it if it didn’t last too long. I took a quick breath when I could and held my breath, but it was not possible for the beginning. I couldn’t breathe, and the moment came when I thought that it was the end for me. Everything was black and smelled rancid. My stomach felt as if it had been turned inside out, my nose smelled foul, and the water that came pouring down on me felt as if it was a pillar of fire. I writhed and twisted so hard that the plank shook.
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The blanket became soaked with my sweat. Am I seeing death in front of me? Am I going to give up here and die? Arghhhh… No, I am not going to give up now! But those thoughts again lasted for a moment. Arghhhh… There has got to be a way! I’ll give up and write the testimony that they want me to, and I’ll see what happens next. Splash! And I heard the low whispering and laughter of my torturers. Hehehehe… I wanted to strangle that laughter. Argh… I wanted to tell them that I would give my testimony, but I couldn’t speak. I tried twisting, but that didn’t do anything. I wriggled my toes and ankles, but all that did was scar my feet. Finally, I tried moving my head as if I were nodding, which was the only way I could express myself. It took everything out of me to move my head, but the answer to that was a total rejection. Splash! I didn’t know what the torturers were talking about, but their response terrified me. I didn’t know how long it went on, but it came to the point that I couldn’t even move at all. Everything felt unreal, and the only thing that seemed alive was the sound of water being
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poured out from the showerhead. Sometime later, the showerhead and the kettle weren’t there anymore, and I felt the towel being taken off of my face. Am I saved? I’ll talk. I will give my testimony. What are you going to say? I will answer any question. What? You’ll answer questions? We don’t need that! That was not enough for you, was it? What we want is for you to surrender! A complete surrender! Start again! I was going to say something right away but couldn’t. No! The towel was on my face again, and Clamp. The water poured out from the showerhead again. Terrified that I’d die from suffocation, I was pushed into the pit of fear and despair. Arghhhh… Splash! Do you surrender? So are you going to give your testimony or what? Nod…nod… They cuffed me, and I realized I was still alive. My stomach felt as if it had been turned inside out, I kept vomiting, and the blanket was soaked with my sweat.
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On the plank, they made sure that I had surrendered. You give up, right? Yes…yes… And they untied me. Here! Put these clothes on! The torture had made me stupid, and I did what I was told to do. What was strange was that it was past noon already. The torture began around half past seven, but it was already half past noon. The first water torture lasted five hours. Remembering that fact seems meaningless, but meaningless as it is, I still want to keep it in my memory. Argh… argh…
September 4, 1985 at 8 p.m. Tap…tap…tap… Tap… At 1 p.m., I answered their questions and wrote my testimony again and again. They kept asking me questions again and again about things that I couldn’t remember. At 8 p.m. What the… This is not going anywhere. Strip and blindfold him! Ahh…. Thud… No! Kim Yeong-du, Jeong Hyun-gyu, and Choe Sang-nam moved quickly.
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And I was back tied to the plank. Splash! They started torturing me again. They didn’t demand anything nor did they ask me anything. There was no need for rational thinking or logical responses. After torturing me for a while… Kim Geun-tae! Confess that you are a violent revolutionist. You believe in socialism, and you are a key figure in the democratic movement! You and the Association of Young People for Democracy are the most violent ones who make the calls, and everything happened because of you and the association! So give us the names, the names of people who do your bidding! Argh… What they wanted made no sense, and why did they want me to… Argh… I couldn’t think about what they were planning to do with the names of the people if they had them. Argh… But I knew what danger the people would face. I tried to hold out, but I couldn’t. I succumbed to the temptation of surrender. So I admitted it. Nod… Yes, you’re right! The person who was behind the democratic movement is Lee Beum-yeong. *Lee Beum-yeong was a student activist during the Yushin Regime, and was the third president of the Association of Young People for Democracy. Hehehe! This is great! The truth was I didn’t know anything, but they were going to stop torturing me only if I gave
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them a name. I knew that Beum-yeong was on the wanted list and was in hiding, so I didn’t think giving his name would bring him more harm. The torture ended around 1 a.m. in the morning. The second round of the torture also lasted five hours. Argh‌ Ah‌.
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